


Projections Part 1

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You [8]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family Drama, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:48:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27891022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEThe TARDIS crashes onto an unspecified location after the Doctor let the ship decide where to go, and something very unexpected happens that has the potential to change the Doctor & Rose's future forever.“Doctor?” Rose said. He was spinning in a circle, his head glued to the abyss of darkness above them. The spark appeared again, and this time Rose could see it. “What is that?”“Time,” he said softly. There was a panic in his voice, though, and Rose watched again. The flash appeared. This time longer than before. “It’s getting closer,” he said.“What does it mean?” Rose asked.“Hello, dear one,” a voice called. She said a word in the language Rose knew to be Gallifreyan. It echoed throughout the darkness, and Rose whipped around to try and find it. The Doctor was frozen beside her.“Mother?” he said.***Part of the Forever with You series, highly recommend reading the other stories before this one, as this is a turning point in the series***
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030980
Comments: 14
Kudos: 138





	Projections Part 1

Sometimes, their life is quite dizzying. 

They met Jack, unexpectedly caught up with Donna and Harriet Jones, killed a Dalek, got in a fight, made up, took Donna with them to 1922, and now….

Now the TARDIS was falling apart around them. 

His hand found Rose’s, as it always did, and he threw her to the ground as he laid his body on top of her, trying to stop the falling debris from hitting her. He let out a cry as something hit his shoulder, and Rose decided they had to move. She gripped his hand again, and crawled with him away from the console, ducking by the door. 

The TARDIS was doing everything in her power not to completely combust with them inside, and the screech that rang in both of their ears from their connection to her as she screamed was enough to make Rose hurl, and the Doctor scream alongside her from the pressure in his head. 

And then, it ended. A vast amount of gray and gold smoke was pouring from the bottom of the console, and a hundred of the orbs that circled around them had crashed to the ground, but they were okay. The Doctor was laying on the grating beside Rose, both panting as they tried to catch their breath, beads of sweat dripping down both of their foreheads. 

The Doctor could still feel the pulse of the TARDIS in his mind, but she was hurt. And it made him hurt. 

“Sorry ‘bout the mess,” Rose whispered, and the Doctor just shook his head. 

“Come here,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “I love you. You okay?” 

“Yeah, you?” she asked. He nodded and kissed her hair, his respiratory bypass finally kicking in. “I love you, too.” 

They sat there for a moment, until Rose felt the blood in her limbs again and was able to count her breaths. The Doctor moved carefully, squeezing her hand as he pulled away from her, and walked gingerly over to the console, avoiding the fallen glass and shrapnel that was at his feet. 

Rose closed her eyes, and tried to connect to the TARDIS. Her connection was fried. 

“Is she okay? I can’t hear her,” Rose asked, her voice shaking. 

“Yeah, I feel her. She’s weak though, trying to see what’s wrong,” he replied. 

“Should I go out there? Try to see where she took us?” Rose asked. 

The Doctor knelt by the rim of the console. The entire networking grid was fried. He sighed. 

“I think we have to. I’ll have to redo the entire circuit box and communications com,” he groaned. “I’m sorry, old girl.” 

He brushed his hand along the console, and felt a dull hum. It eased his beating hearts for a moment and he sent her a promise that they would be back soon, hopefully with at least some of the things they need to fix her up. 

His eyes met Rose’s as she still sat by the door. “You sure you’re okay?” 

“Promise, I‘m fine,” she said, slowly standing back up. She held her hand out to him, wiggling her fingers in the enticing way she does on their adventures. He smiled. 

“Allons-y, Rose Tyler,” he said. It lacked its usual flourish, but given the circumstances, Rose thought that was to be expected. 

What was not expected, however, is what they found on the outside. 

Darkness. 

They had to go back inside and grab emergency flashlights. The Doctor thought it was all highly inconvenient, to land on an uninhabited planet at this time. A planet so _empty,_ there wasn’t even a moon to highlight the terrain as they walked hand in hand, desperately searching for some semblance of life or aid. 

The longer they walked, the more nervous the Doctor was becoming. The TARDIS was not functional. If they were alone here... Well… 

He refused to wallow. Not yet. He just held Rose’s hand as they walked, and he kept his ears, eyes, and nose peeled for anything he might be able to find. 

“Doctor!” Rose gasped. He stopped walking and looked at her, and in the ray of the flashlight her eyes met his. 

He realized he was absent-mindedly running his left hand’s thumb along the ridge of the turquoise-stone ring that matched the one on Rose’s finger. The Doctor was still too nervous to try a permanent mental bond with Rose, they still didn’t know how embedded the Bad Wolf entity was to her mind, and he didn’t want to risk frying her memory or worse, but he had grown to love this ring and its intimate and intoxicating connection to his perfect pink and yellow human. As he touched it now he felt her rapid heartbeat. 

Her Instincts must be working. 

“What are you thinking?” he asked. 

“I don’t know,” she whispered. She wasn’t sure why she felt like she had to stay quiet, but her hand slipped into the Doctor’s again and he let her take the lead, guiding him in the darkness toward something hiding ahead of them. 

The walk felt longer in the dark, and the Doctor had to continually try to settle the feeling of uneasiness in his chest and stomach. Rose would squeeze his hand when he began to feel it, a side effect of the rings, and it helped, but he was still worried. 

They came across a ledge, and Rose stopped him from walking too far forward, her Instincts telling her this is where they needed to be. 

“We don’t have to jump again, do we?” the Doctor asked, partially kidding, remembering all the blind jumping they did in Atlantis as a result of this ability of hers. She shook her head. 

“No, I… I don’t know why we’re here. It’s just… empty,” she muttered. 

He moved to wrap his arm around her waist in comfort, when a spark of light caught his attention in the sky. 

A far off dream... 

“Not possible,” he said slowly. Rose tried to follow his gaze, but his body slipped from her entirely and he stood a foot away, trying to see if he could catch the light again. He began to speak rapidly. “No, no, no, no, no, no….” 

“Doctor?” Rose said. He was spinning in a circle, his head glued to the abyss of darkness above them. The spark appeared again, and this time Rose could see it. “What is that?” 

“Time,” he said softly. There was a panic in his voice, though, and Rose watched again. The flash appeared. This time longer than before. “It’s getting closer,” he said. 

“What does it mean?” Rose asked. 

“Hello, dear one,” a voice called. She said a word in the language Rose knew to be Gallifreyan. It echoed throughout the darkness, and Rose whipped around to try and find it. The Doctor was frozen beside her. 

“Mother?” he said. His voice was barely audible, and Rose felt her heart plummet to her stomach. 

She turned sharply in the direction he was facing. A ball of light was taking the shape of a woman, and soon she stood before them. She was clearly just an image, a projection, a soft pink glow forming around her silhouette, and she was smiling. 

Even still, she was stupendous. 

Her slim frame was dressed in ethereal robes, and her blonde hair was pulled up high on top of her head, with a delicate headpiece dropping down her back, glistening against the light. 

The Doctor held his breath. 

Rose looked at him, and then back to the projection of the woman before them. 

“I missed you, dear one,” she said. 

Rose could feel the Doctor begin to tremble beside her, and she immediately gripped his arm, helping him stand. He tried to focus on breathing. And if he didn’t, he just had to hope his respiratory bypass would engage so he could focus on speaking. Standing. Rose’s hands gripped him tightly. 

“We don’t have long,” the woman said again. “Say something, dear.” 

She said that word again, and the Doctor’s lip trembled. Rose realized it must be his name. 

The Doctor couldn’t do anything, especially speak in this moment. He just closed his eyes and Rose could see his Adam’s apple bobbing like it does when he is overwhelmed. Her tongue grazed her lips as she focused on him, trying to figure out how involved in this moment she should be. He clearly couldn’t answer her, though, so Rose cleared her throat. 

“Hello, I’m Rose,” she said. 

The woman turned her face toward her and nodded. “I know who you are, dear one.” 

The Doctor began to hyperventilate, something that he found utterly ridiculous and should not be possible, but sure enough, he was gasping, air seemingly impossible to find as he collapsed next to Rose. 

“Doctor!” Rose called. She reached for his tie and began to pull it loose, unbuttoning his top two buttons of his shirt as well. He was scaring her, and his arms were pushing against her as he tried to find more air. “Doctor, stop fighting it, your body won’t let you die. You’ll just pass out and start breathing again. C’mon, stop!” 

He knew she was right. He was much too clever to be doing this right now. He tried to breathe, but it kept feeling like he was underwater. 

“Dear one, listen to her,” the woman said again. She said his name. 

Rose’s instincts kicked in. Her eyes turned gold. 

_Doctor, listen to my voice._

_Rose..._

_Hello._

She smiled at him, and his eyes met hers against the glare of the flashlight and the projection before them. Golden galaxies swimming with chocolate, and he began to feel calmer. 

_I love you. I’m right here. But you gotta talk to her, okay?_

_She’s not real, Rose._

_I know._

His eyes were desperate. There was an ache and sadness in them that made Rose wrap her arms around him, and press her lips to his temple. She closed her eyes, dropping the Bad Wolf energy and letting him go as well. 

He stood carefully. 

“Hello, mother,” he said. Rose bit her lip. He sounded like he was eight years old. And she realized, in that moment, just how much he had truly missed his family. Of course he did. It broke her heart all over again. 

The woman said his name again, smiling at him. 

“How… what is this?” the Doctor asked. 

“This is a promise,” she said. “Your father saw the ending before the war even began. He set up these projections in the event you followed the proper timeline, so that you could have everything you need. When you’re ready.” 

“What does that mean?” the Doctor asked. 

“All in due time, dear one,” the woman said. “There will be five projections total. Each one will help you. Reward you for your sacrifice, and for your courage. We are...so proud of you.” 

Rose gripped the Doctor’s hand. She felt him stiffen beside her and she bit her lip so hard she drew a little bit of blood, which she ignored. 

“There is a cabin over that way,” the woman said, gesturing to her left. “ Keep walking and you will see it. Your father has a gift for you. It will have what you need for the TARDIS.” 

The woman smiled at the Doctor, who was shaking again beside Rose. 

“How do you know about the TARDIS? What timeline are you talking about?” the Doctor asked, his hand finally squeezing Rose’s again as he came to his senses and started to speak. 

“All in due time, my dear. Go. Save the TARDIS. I will see you again soon.” 

And she was gone. 

Rose and the Doctor stood frozen in place. 

A moment passed. One that, for a while, felt everlasting. 

Rose started to shiver. Finally, when she could tell her hands were growing numb, she spoke. 

“Doctor, let’s go. It’s freezing,” she said. 

Her voice cut the darkness like a knife, and he jumped a little at the sound. 

“You’re cold?” he asked, his voice alarmed. 

“A bit, yeah, but it’s okay, let’s just go to the cabin, yeah?” she said. 

The Doctor hugged her. His arms felt heavier than usual as he gripped her to him, his Christmas scent wrapping itself around her like it always did, and she sighed into his chest. “Are you okay?” she whispered. 

“No,” he admitted. He couldn’t lie to her. She nodded, her hand latching itself into his hair on the back of his head, and she pressed her lips to his. 

It was a soft kiss, but the Doctor deepened it quickly, scratching her waist with his fingers as he ran them up her skin under her shirt. He needed her. He always did. She shuddered, and he found the mounds of flesh beneath her bra, grasping at them desperately. 

“Rose, can we...can we just...focus on the here and now for a moment?” he whispered. She nodded. 

“Doctor - “ Rose sighed, biting her lip in that same spot. She once again ignored the blood, and soon she found herself laying on the dark ground, the Doctor’s body hovering above her as he kissed her neck, then her jaw, then her cheek. 

She held him, knowing he needed her, and she didn’t stop him as he continued to rub his hands along her torso, her breasts, her hips… she cried out at the feel of him, his skin pressing itself against hers, and she decided to try something she hadn’t done before. Something she always wanted to do, but had been too afraid. 

But if there was a chance it would help him, she had to try. 

Her eyes glowed gold. 

She kept them closed so he wouldn’t see, but she sent him one single thought. 

_I love you. I’ve got you. I love you._

He groaned loudly, the sensation overwhelming in his heightened state of arousal and captured her lips in a kiss. 

_Rose, are you sure?_

_Yes, Doctor. The here and now. Let me feel all of you._

He made a noise that sounded like a sob, and he nipped at her neck. His hands were everywhere at all once, and he soon stood, tearing his trench coat off so Rose could lay on it, and they were both stripping quickly, desire pulsating through both of them with such an intense passion it felt like it was engraving into their hearts. 

Maybe it was. Stranger things had happened to them. 

He found her, melting their bodies together as their minds connected. Rose kept the energy at a base level, just enough to hear his every thought and feel his emotions. 

He was overwhelmed. But he couldn’t get enough. 

She rubbed her hand down his back as he processed it all. Everything in the last hour. The confusion, the hurt, the love, the joy, the fear, the pain. 

The pain. 

His life had been full of it, and Rose felt tears escape her eyes as he tried to throw the pain away and focus on her. His beacon of light. His impossible human. 

No one knew him better than her, and he cried her name in the darkness at the gratitude he felt that she was with him when the projection appeared, because he probably wouldn’t have survived it otherwise. 

_Don’t say that, please._

_Sorry._

He continued to meld to her, the way that only this body could, and Rose trailed kisses down his chest. She gasped against him, and he kept saying her name over and over, in Gallifreyan and English, swearing occasionally as she thrusted in response to him. 

_I love you so much,_ he thought. She nodded. 

_I know. I know. I got you. It’s okay._

He called her name as she called his, their screams reverberating into the sky around them, bouncing off the stones and rocks that rested at their feet. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, still inside of her, his hands gripped to her waist as his forehead rested against hers. She shook her head. 

“Hey - what was our new rule?” she whispered. He kissed her again, lingering for just a moment before he moved to lay beside her, wrapping her in his coat. 

“Are you still cold?” he asked. 

“Not as much,” she said, smiling up at him. He squeezed her. 

“Good,” he said quietly. 

They laid there for a moment, before slowly throwing their clothes back on and making their way toward the cabin. The Doctor still wasn’t talking about what happened, and Rose didn’t push him. They found the cabin after a while of walking, and the Doctor soniced the door metal door open. 

“Bloody hell,” he gasped. 

“What?” Rose asked, moving to see inside. 

Oh. 

The room was well lit compared to the abyss outside, and it looked like a factory. And if Rose had to guess, a factory that belonged to one long lost planet that her favorite Time Lord called home. 

She squeezed his hand, unsure of what else to do. 

“I thought this was all… lost,” the Doctor said. He stepped inside, and Rose followed, careful not to touch anything as he walked around, taking it all in. “Rose, it has everything in here. We can even make upgrades.” 

“Is that good?” Rose asked. The Doctor froze. 

“Yeah, I think it is,” he whispered. His eyes finally met hers, and she saw tears in them. “They did this for me?” 

Rose nodded, pushing back her own tears. “Seems so, yeah.” 

“I just…” the Doctor said, but he trailed off. “All this time.” 

Rose didn’t say anything, but she knew. She almost told him that she always thought his family would understand his actions of the Time War, but she didn’t. He was letting her in, and she knew if she said anything remotely cocky in this moment he would shut her out. Possibly for good. Wedding vows be damned. 

“What do we need?” Rose asked, and he sniffed. 

“Grab that, behind you, that panel.” 

She did, and they spent the next few minutes gathering other items, most of which just looked like junk to Rose, and she picked up a circular object of some sort, when something caught her eye. 

“Doctor?” she said. He walked over to her, his arms full of other materials. “What’s this?” 

He glanced down, and dropped everything he was holding. 

“That’s mine,” he said. He picked it up, and the room started to spin. “From when I was a kid. It’s...my first clock.” 

“That’s a clock?” Rose asked, smiling. He nodded, and held it out to her. 

It was small, circular, with a beautiful script along the side of it. As Rose looked closer at it, it did remind her a little of a pocket watch. She didn’t touch it, too afraid of breaking it, but the Doctor surprised her in a way that sent her heart to her throat. He wrapped it around her neck, its golden chain matching her hair as it landed on her heart. 

“Looks great on you,” he said, smiling at her. 

“I love you so much,” she said, unable not to say it at this moment. He grinned and kissed her, his hands cupping her cheeks as he pulled away. 

“Come on, let’s go home,” he said, taking a final look around the room. 

“Okay,” she said back. 

They gathered all their items and began the long walk back to the TARDIS. They took breaks, Rose was unable to carry everything for too long, and after a couple of hours they were at the blue doors, and the TARDIS was tired. The Doctor could feel her exhaustion as he stepped inside. 

“Hey old girl,” Rose hummed, dropping the materials she had in the doorway. The Doctor chuckled at her and picked them up, moving them to the console. “Don’t laugh, that was heavy!” 

“Not laughing,” he said, a gleam in his eye. “I’m gonna stay up tonight. Try to get a head start.” 

“Need help?” she asked. 

“No,” he said. She nodded. 

“Want to be alone?” 

“No.” 

She kissed his cheek and went to make some tea, emerging five minutes later in warmer clothes and two hot mugs, and placed one on the grating by the Doctor. 

“You should change out of that suit,” she said. He sighed. 

“‘I’m fine, Rose, thank you for the tea,” he said. He didn’t move to look at her, his entire body was covered by the core of the TARDIS, and Rose heard the hum of the sonic and the turn of a wrench as he worked. She grabbed a book, some exciting romance novel from the 30th century, and settled with her tea in the pilots seat to his right, ready to be a shoulder to cry on or an assembly line to hand things to him with, whichever he might need more. 

For a while, the latter was the role she served. She would get up, grab one of the items they brought back, hand it to him, return to her book, etc. She nodded off at one point, and awoke when he shocked himself with something. He looked at her then, and she started laughing at the way his hair was now standing straight up on his head. 

“What?” he cried. She just laughed harder. 

Despite the crash, despite the projection of his mother, despite the passionate needy sex, they felt like… them. Like he wasn’t dwelling on anything at this moment. Perhaps it was just the fact that he could focus on the TARDIS and not have to think about those things, but Rose allowed herself to just enjoy this time. But her job as the shoulder to cry on came as well, about four hours into the Doctor’s work, when he took a break. 

He came to sit by her, drinking his now very cold tea in one long gulp, and nudged her with his knee. She nudged him back, making room for him on the chair, and he leaned into her side, his head resting on her chest as she put her book down, bringing her hand back into his hair and smoothing down the bits that were still standing up. 

“Thank you,” he said. 

“For what?” she asked. 

“Not asking me anything,” he said. “I know you want to.” 

“Nah. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. If you want. It’s okay,” she told him. He cocked an eyebrow at her. 

“You met my mother, sort of, and you don’t have any questions?” he asked. She smiled at him. 

“She seems more understanding than mine,” she murmured. He grinned against her. 

“Not really,” he said. 

There was a moment of silence between them, and Rose just focused on her hand in his hair. She felt his shoulders fall and his body stiffen, and she allowed her arms to wrap around him and he silently cried. 

The Doctor crying still affected her in ways that would make her tear the fabric of the universe apart if she needed to, if that’s what it would take to stitch whatever wound was open. She’s only seen him do it a few times, granted, and usually it was at her expense - when the fear of losing her overtook him. He was much more likely to shout or close himself off. This time, though, she could tell it was a cry he had done before. A cry for the loss of his family. A cry he had bottled up since he made that agonizing decision. So long ago, she knows. Back before he was all ears and leather jackets. 

She kissed his forehead, still not speaking. 

There was a time, not that long ago, when he would have made her return to the TARDIS when that projection appeared. Or ran straight to his room, back when they didn’t share it, or maybe the library, without speaking to her and just locked her out for weeks, faux smiles and pretend conversation their only source of connection until he made the storm pass on his own. If he ever did. 

Not now. Now she was his shoulder to cry on. And she had never been more grateful. 

“Do you wanna tell me about her?” Rose whispered. The Doctor nodded. 

“Yeah, I do.” 

And so he did. For the next two hours, the Doctor told her stories of his childhood. The first time he thought about his family in decades. She could _see_ the weight leave his shoulders as he did. Stories about his brother, and the games they would play when their mother thought they were asleep, counting stars or making experiments in their bedroom. 

He told her about his rebellious phase, the way his mother and father were constantly having to bail him out of all sorts of problems at school, or with friends, or neighbors. Rose told him it didn’t surprise her in the slightest. 

And then he said three words that shocked her world. 

“She was human.” 

Rose stared at him. He was sitting up now, they each had a new cup of tea and a few biscuits, and he was chewing his latest bite as he said these words. 

“What?” Rose whispered. 

“My mother. She was human. I never told anyone that before,” he said, smiling at her. “It’s.. well…” 

“Why you love Earth so much,” Rose said. Her heart grew two sizes as she considered this, and the Doctor just shrugged absentmindedly. 

“Weeeeeell, not the only reason,” he said. 

“Doctor,” Rose said, grabbing his hand. “I think it’s sweet.” 

“Yeah?” he asked. Rose nodded. 

“Course,” she said. 

She didn’t say it, but she wondered if his father had the constant fear of losing his mother in the same way that the Doctor feared losing her. His mother must have only been a part of the Doctor’s life for a fraction of it, she realized. 

Even though she came back to him from that Void, even though she survived the Underworld and now had the power of Bad Wolf, even though she stopped a Dalek from shooting him two days ago, and had faced off multiple other enemies, even though sometimes it was easy for her to think she was invincible, she is still human. And as open as he is with her now, as much progress he has made to let her in, she knows losing her still weighs on his hearts.

He sipped his tea, lost in thought, and she had a feeling he might be thinking about the same thing. Rose cuddled up next to him, eating her biscuit, and he kissed her hand. 

He was definitely thinking the same thing. 

“Do you think you and me...That we’re the right timeline she was talking about?” Rose said instead of asking him about how his mother died. And when. The Doctor let out a breath. It smelled of peppermint, and Rose smiled. 

“God, I hope so,” he whispered. 

He kissed her, and Rose tried to ignore the unspoken words in the air. The lingering questions she wanted to ask, the reassurance she wanted to offer. He tried to squash his fear, just as he did in New York the day before, and focus on the here and now. Like she asked him to.

He tried to just focus on the feeling of Rose in his arms. 

He tried not to hope. Not too much. Not yet. 

“My mother was gone long before the war. I don’t even understand how the projection was of her. Human that she was...My father must have looked, when the war began. He must have known….” 

He trailed off. She activated her Wolf. 

_This easier?_

_Yeah._

Silence for a moment. 

_They knew, Rose. I think that is what she was telling me tonight. That they were prepared to die. They were...okay._

_I think so, too._

_I wish they told me._

_They couldn’t. Timelines._

He looked down at her, and her eyes turned back to normal. He shook his head at her. 

“Quite right,” he whispered. She grinned. “Knowing my people, and my father especially, whatever he has planned won’t be revealed to me until, as he would say ‘the clock is properly wound.” 

Rose quirked an eyebrow at him. “He’s as cryptic as you are.” 

“Had to get it from somewhere, I suppose,” he said with a small smile, rubbing his eye with his index finger and looking at the ceiling. “Point is, I won’t be able to predict any of this. It’s clearly a timeline he hid from me. The fact he knew the TARDIS would be in trouble… It’s what he wanted to happen. If I follow the right timeline, whatever is supposed to take place...will. He will have seen to it. It’ll be a fixed point.”

“Is that good?” Rose asked. 

“I…” the Doctor said.

“She said it was a reward, meant to help. That they were proud of you,” Rose whispered. The Doctor clenched his jaw. 

“Yeah,” he said softly. Rose grabbed his hand. “We had a complicated relationship.” 

“I’m sorry,” Rose whispered. Her heart was pounding. Never, in all the galaxies, did she ever think he would be telling her any of this. “Can I ask you a question?” 

“Hm?” he murmured, his lips brushing her forehead. 

“If your mother was human, does that mean you...” she said, her voice barely audible. He kissed her forehead again. 

“I have a small strain of human DNA, yes,” he said. “My Time Lord DNA will always overpower it. But...well…” 

“What?” she asked. He sighed. 

“There’s a reason I wasn’t home very often, Rose. The strain my travels put on my parents when I was younger was...a point of contention,” he said. “The human bit of me was enough to make most Time Lords think of me as an abomination. Most of my relationships were...fraught. Mating with humans just wasn’t something that…” he broke off, and took a deep breath. “I love my home. But it wasn’t all happy memories.” 

“Most people feel that way I think,” she mused, rubbing her thumb along his hand. 

“Mmm,” he said, not quite agreeing or disagreeing. He was looking up at the ceiling again, and saw the orbs beginning to reform, and he let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “Look.” 

She glanced up as well, and smiled. 

“What else do you want to know?” the Doctor asked. Rose turned to him. 

“Are you sure?” she asked. He nodded. 

“I..this feels good, Rose. Sharing with you. I want to,” he said. “I’ll tell you if there’s a question I don’t want to answer.” 

She gave him a soft smile, and swallowed the lump in her throat. 

“I know you had kids,” she said. The Doctor smiled. 

“Oh yes,” he said. “Grandkids, too.” 

“Blimey,” she said, and they both started to laugh. “Sometimes I forget how old you are,” she said, poking his side. He shrugged. 

“It was lifetimes ago, Rose.” 

“I know. But… do you, I dunno...wanna tell me about them, too?” she whispered. The Doctor sighed. 

“That...might have wait a little. I’m sorry,” he whispered. She shook her head. 

“Stop, please. Don’t apologize,” she said. 

“Can I tell you about the time I stole our TARDIS here?” he offered. 

“Wait, you _stole_ the TARDIS?” she asked, a smile curling on her face. He laughed. 

“Settle in, Rose Tyler. This one is a fun story.”  
~~~

A few hours later, Rose was asleep in the pilot’s chair and the Doctor had returned to the control panel, working. More orbs had started to regrow around them, and the ache in his mind was starting to ease. He suspected Rose would be able to hear her again when she woke up as well. 

His hearts felt lighter than they had in ages. Rose had been so patient, so kind, so understanding, and his mind was spinning with so many thoughts and emotions he wasn’t sure how to process any of it. 

One thing he was certain of, more than anything, was just how in love he was with her. 

He connected a few wires, and decided to remember what he had discovered the day before. That he couldn’t predict everything. And he chose, then and there, to try and not obsess or fret over whatever these projections might be. 

The here and now, that’s what mattered. 

He repeated that mantra as he added some Vortex manipulation upgrades and landing gear. Maybe he won’t crash as much… 

Finally, everything was in place, and the Doctor knew he had been working for ten straight hours. Rose was still asleep, and as he stood, his neck felt stiff. He picked her up slowly, tucking her head against him, and carried her to bed, silently cursing himself for not doing this sooner. He placed her on the mattress and covered her with the blanket, when the clock around her neck caught his eye. 

The script Rose had noticed before had a word he didn’t remember being there, etched in Gallifreyan next to his name. 

_Bad Wolf._

He sat beside her, and lightly traced the script with his thumb, his throat tight and his hearts beating so fast they were trying to burst, but this time, it wasn’t from fear. 

It was from joy. 

Whatever his family had planned, Rose was a part of it. 

And _that_ , he could finally say, gave him hope.

**Author's Note:**

> I am equal parts excited and utterly terrified! 
> 
> It's a crazy idea I have in my head that will play out over 5 parts. I don't want to write this as one story because other things need to happen in order to trigger more projections, so just keep an eye out for the following titles "Projections - Part 2" (3, 4, and 5 too). Those stories will help clarify what is happening, but they will also build on the other adventures I'll be publishing, so I still recommend reading everything in order to get the full effect. 
> 
> Thanks everyone!


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